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AP Language Essay 4: Abbey and Patriotism

Your fourth AP Language essay is available for download here.

American author Edward Abbey wrote the following personal critique of patriotism in his book Confessions of a Barbarian:

“My loyalties will not be bound by national borders, or confined in time by one nation’s history, or limited in the spiritual dimension by one language and culture. I pledge my allegiance to the damned human race, and my everlasting love to the green hills of Earth, and my intimations of glory to the singing stars, to the very end of space and time.”

In a well-developed essay, defend, refute, or qualify Abbey’s argument that we should rethink our loyalty to a particular nation and refocus it on broader love to humanity, nature, and/or something else.

October 21, 2013/by dpogreba

Potential Great Gatsby Exam Questions Fall 2013

AP Language

The Great Gatsby exam will require you to answer two questions, each in a well-developed essay with a thesis and 2-3 strong, detailed paragraphs. An excellent answer will demonstrate knowledge of the text, classroom discussion and the notes we’ve discussed.

Scott Fitzgerald famously said that “there are no second acts in American lives.” Do the life and death of Jay Gatsby demonstrate this claim or refute it? Does the novel ultimately argue that one can never re-invent himself?
Point of View is one of the most powerful techniques of The Great Gatsby. Explain how Fitzgerald’s use of a ‘witness’ point of view impacts the reader and allows Fitzgerald to develop his themes. Why does he occasionally transgress this point of view, and with what impact?
What is ultimately the most to blame for the tragic end of the novel: Gatsby’s nostalgic desire for the past, Daisy’s selfishness, or Nick’s silence?
Fitzgerald is known as the preeminent chronicler of the Jazz Age, perhaps better depicting its excesses and virtues better than anyone. How does Nick Caraway demonstrate both attraction to and repulsion from the lives of the incredibly rich inhabitants of Long Island?
Does the novel argue that Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero responsible for his own downfall or is it a critique of a society in which romanticism is no longer allowed/permitted?

October 12, 2013/by dpogreba